


hey angel

by ultraviolentae



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-10 16:34:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20531105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultraviolentae/pseuds/ultraviolentae
Summary: I come alive when I hear your voiceIt's a beautiful sound, it's a beautiful noiseOh I wish I could be more like youDo you wish you could be more like me?





	hey angel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tokyomew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyomew/gifts).

> i wrote this on a whim because i was stuck with literally all my other fics and i needed to unclog, so tbh its just a tiny pointless drabble hhh

**T**here's always that one person. Popular, well liked, more-attractive-than-most, basically the whole perfect package for a one-sided crush that is bound to remain eternally unreciprocated. 

Jisung is painfully aware of the fact that Na Jaemin is out of league, out of the majority of people's league, and it isn't like he is actively trying to find ways to somehow charm his way into the boy's heart (anymore). It doesn't hurt like it used to, he gets to enjoy envisioning a life where he could actually court Jaemin without actually believing in any of that Don't Give Up On Your Dreams bullshit that is indoctrinate by every single life coach ever. He doesn't care, not really, it's been years since the crush had begun developing and, frankly, after a bunch of failed attempts at getting rid of the cursed emotions that seemed to be destined to plague him for the rest of his days, Jisung had settled for the good old staring at someone for creepily long amounts of time (he had mastered the skill of shifting his eyes away quickly enough to not be caught by now). 

So,  _ yes _ , he is also entirely aware of how stalker-y he is for standing in front of his window staring ahead at his neighbor as he cheerfully plays games with his infamous also super popular friends. It isn't the first time he's done it, far from it, so it doesn't make him nervous about being caught anymore. But, maybe, he should've reconsidered it. Just  _ maybe.  _

Jaemin isn't the bully kind of popular kid, he smiles at everyone even the loners in the corner of the room who try their best to go by unseen by their peers. Jisung could count with his hands the amount of times his eyes had locked with Na Jaemin's, and each time it felt special as if the boy was into him with the same intensity. Newsflash, he wasn't. Just as he smiled and waved at him, the boy would do the exact same to literally everyone else. His short lived excitement always died down quickly enough. 

So when a pair of not so familiar black eyes suddenly lock with his, Jisung goes feral. His knees jerk forward and he squeaks embarrassing loud before throwing himself on the floor as if that'd make the fact that his years long crush had just caught him staring creepily vanish.  _ It didn't _ . And eventually Jisung finally finds the balls to push himself back up and nonchalantly begin tugging at the curtains to close them, as if nothing had ever happened. 

It's hard to ignore, however, the way Jaemin was waving at him with a wide grin as if they knew each other. Jisung knows that the boy's kindness was an amazing trait, it was better than than falling for a bully, but he genuinely hated how personal Jaemin made their interactions seem. They hadn't talked to each other in years, and that had been before the crush was even part of the picture — Jaemin's mom, like the angel she is, dropped by their house when he moved into the neighbourhood with a basket of homemade goods as a welcoming gift and introduced her smiley son to the entire family, Jisung included. 

Donghyuck, Jaemin's friend, leans towards the boy with a puzzled expression. His mouth was moving but Jisung couldn't hear his voice nor read what his lips could potentially be saying. Jisung feels his blood be drained from his entire body and shot right up straight to his face. He's red, he knows it. It's embarrassing and he can't move.  _ Why can't i move?  _

Jaemin ignores his friend by gently brushing him off as if saying "I'll explain later." and keeps the eye contact with Jisung. He too begins talking but the boy can't hear, but Jaemin doesn't give up even then. He moves his mouth slowly and wide as he speaks to make it easier for Jisung to comprehend and, miraculously, he does. "Are you okay?" Is the question Jaemin so desperately seemed to want to get across, somehow not surprising. 

Jisung could not stress  _ enough  _ how much he hated how nice the boy was. 

And, just like the idiot he was, Jisung doesn't reply. Instead he closes the curtain and bolts towards his bed where he calls Chenle to cry about his stupidity and how much he wished a hole would swallow him whole so he would not have to go through the embarrassing experience of greeting Jaemin at school the next day. 

Chenle just laughs, eardrum-explodingly loud, like the good and helpful friend he is. 

  
  
  
  
  


There's no clear correlation between a fleet of alien spaceships blowing the Earth to pathetic bits and Na Jaemin approaching a simpleton like Jisung in front of everyone during lunch break, apart from both scenarios being extremely improbable. 

Except, Jaemin  _ is  _ there, right in front of him, in flesh, showcasing all his thirty two pearly white teeth in all their glory. So, perhaps humans shouldn't brush away the possibility of an alien invasion so mindlessly. 

Jisung's brain begins malfunctioning, if the fact that his crush was standing right in front of him and all he could think of was being blown up by aliens didn't make that obvious enough. But,  _ heck _ , who could blame him? The aliens, maybe. 

"Hey bud." Jaemin greets him with his usual husky voice that always managed to send chills down Jisung's spine. "You fell pretty badly yesterday, you good?" 

It's impossible to tell if the dolphin laughter echoing inside his head comes from his inner little personal demon, or the actual Chenle that Jisung had last seen waiting in line in the cafeteria. "N-no. I'm just fine you don't need to worry!" 

"Still." Jaemin clicks his tongue and then a soft tight-lipped smile begins to form on his face. "But next time if you wanna join us, just ask."

The world is spinning.  _ Well,  _ theoretically it always is. But now it's going faster, so fast that Jisung is dizzy, at the brink of fainting or regurgitating all the veggies he had just swallowed a few minute ago all over the table. He can't do that though, not in front of Jaemin, it'd turn his chances of ever getting a shot at having his feelings reciprocated going from about 0.00001% to -0.1% and that was a risk he refused to take. So he breathes in deeply, forces a smile onto his face, and nods hoping that the boy would finally leave so he could allow himself to shut down entirely. 

Much to his demise, that doesn't happen. Things get  _ worse _ . "Oh my god you're hurt though." Jaemin gasps as he points towards a scratch on Jisung's forearm that the boy had never noticed. It was so small, not even a small kitten could've caused such insignificant damage. "That must hurt." He says in what Jisung could only describe as the same voice mothers use with their infants. Jaemin is babying him.  _ What the fuck?  _

"What? This-" 

"Wait i got something to help." The other cuts him off immediately and reaches out for his bag where he grabs a band-aid — which, by the way, was a baffling overreaction. Not even overprotective mothers could pull such a stunt. But it wasn't that that made Jisung cringe so hard his face began hurting, rather the sight of Hello Kitty plastered on the pink object was what sent off sirens inside his head. 

It was so… Jaemin-like. Grossly so. 

"I can't wear  _ that. _ " He protests. 

"And why not? We can match!" Jaemin pouts while holding up his finger wrapped in a blue also Hello Kitty themed band-aid. And maybe if Jisung wasn't so stupidly infatuated with the boy he would've found it irritating. But the soft spot always spoke louder than reason so Jisung finds himself feeling terrible for making the boy upset. 

"Yo Jaemin!" Renjun shouts across the canteen. "Practice starts in ten minutes, let's get going or we'll be late again!" 

Jaemin spares Jisung one last glance and then he's gone leaving the other all by himself to mentally kick his stupid self for not accepting the band-aid straight away. 

That's when he notices it, the obnoxious pink Hello Kitty band-aid laying right where Jaemin had been, waiting to be picked up. Which Jisung does, with the biggest, goofiest smile the world had ever seen. 

  
  
  
  
  


He's going to say sorry. It's a stupid idea, Chenle had already told him hundreds of times that it "Wasn't that deep". Jisung doesn't care, he feels  _ bad.  _ He hadn't meant to mock Jaemin for his questionable preferences, deep down it was endearing that the boy was constantly so unapologetically himself without caring for superficial stereotypes. Making a fool out himself for saying sorry for being a dick didn't matter if he at least got to make sure his attitude hadn't bothered Jaemin. Plus, acting like a fool was nothing new to him anymore, what was one more embarrassing moment added to the pile going to do? 

It was nothing a long four hour nap couldn't solve. 

  
  
  
  
  


He was walking home, thinking about the best way to approach Jaemin to apologise to him, when he feels an arm slide around his shoulder and pulling him to his side. 

"So you joining us today?" As if acknowledging his existence wasn't enough of a dream come true, Jaemin had decided that being all touchy feely with him was on hell of a good idea. Jisung's legs quiver, threatening to give in at any moment. Perfect. 

"I'm sorry i made fun of you Hello Kitty band-aids." Jisung wishes to say but, just as he was about to actually let the words out into the world, a loud frustrated scream erupts suddenly snatching his attention away. 

"No Renjun i don't think you going on dates with the hot dude from the rival team is a grand idea, you traitor."

"It's not that big of a deal it's not like i whisper game tactics to him when he's going at it."

"Did you just admit you're getting laid?" Donghyuck scoffs then begins laughing so loud that Jisung flinches. "Weird flex but okay." 

"I can't stand you." Renjun hisses before jumping on top of his friend to tug at his hair strands. 

"Jaemin tell him, tell him he's a traitor and ruining our chances of winning this season." Donghyuck begs in-between whimpers and grunts. 

Jaemin looks back at the scene and chuckles but doesn't bother replying to his friend, instead he turns to Jisung again. "They're a bit weird but they're cool if you still accept my proposal."

_ Right.  _ Jaemin had asked him to hang.  _ The  _ Na Jaemin. Part of him wanted to say yes and finally get a shot at getting closer to the boy, but another and bigger part was terrified of it. But, somehow, it turns out he doesn't even get a say in it and the next thing he knows he's inside his crush's house, shoved in the couch with his two best friends as the boy turns on the TV and rummages the entire living room for his Nintendo Switch. 

"Donghyuck how come you always manage to place it in the weirdest places." Jarmin whines cutely while grabbing the Nintendo from behind a vase. 

Jisung had heard about the game that pops on the screen. Super Smash Bros, it was well known but his parents refused to buy him yet another gaming device. Apparently it was "too distracting" to his studies (and it was, but that didn't stop Jisung from being bitter). 

Jaemin insists he plays first on a round with him, a warm-up since the other three clearly had experience with the game and he had none. Jisung goes for a familiar character, Donkey Kong — he was an avid Mario Kart fan. The first five rounds were sort of a disaster, but everyone seemed to find the way Jisung pressed buttons at random hilarious. And, he didn't mean to brag, but he had actually managed to kill some characters that way, so how bad could he be. 

He gets the hang of it soon enough though and finally Renjun and Donghyuck get their turn to play. Jaemin snuggles closer to Jisung as the other two stand up to play — it wasn't needed but they had gotten so heated that apparently sitting up wasn't good enough. 

Jaemin doesn't say anything, and Jisung is glad, for if he did then he'd be sure to reply with an embarrassingly high-pitched voice from how nervous he felt. It had been hours since he had gotten to Jaemin's house and he still could not believe that he was actually  _ there  _ and not in his room staring at the scene from his window instead. The sudden interest Jaemin took on him was confusing and, if he was to be entirely honest with himself,  _ scary.  _ It was scary because he couldn't quite understand it but who was he to complain? This was all his dreams had always been made of. 

A fight breaks out again, Renjun and Donghyuck were far too competitive to go against each other. Jisung wonders if they never got tired of bickering, if he hadn't caught the two cuddling on the couch while he and Jaemin were playing he would've assumed the boys hated each other's guts. Apparently it was just their dynamic, Jaemin promised they adored to just rile each other up. 

Jisung, on the other hand, did  _ not  _ adore having to endure the loud shouting and frenzy that they constantly created. There was something about the extremely loud noise that upsetted him, and whether it was stupid of not, a sense of discomfort begins building in his stomach. The same kind of feeling as when his parents fought, Jisung enjoyed harmony far too much, any sort of fight just felt  _ wrong.  _ Chenle always called him a baby whenever he spoke about the subject, but he couldn't care less if he was a baby or not. He wanted to leave. 

So, as Jaemin gets up to split them up and leaves him alone on the couch, Jisung sneakily makes his way to the door and walks right out.

  
  
  
  
  


It's not like he regrets it, but it was technically a childish way to handle things. He didn't want to warn Jaemin, though, because the boy would probably worry and the last thing he wanted was to make everyone feel they couldn't be themselves if he was around. Plus, it was all becoming too overwhelming. Jaemin's body had been pressed against his for long enough to send him into overdrive, the fight had merely been the last drop. 

Jisung couldn't help but hate himself, he had finally gotten what he wanted and instead of relishing it he had fled the scene without saying anything. Jaemin would probably never talk to him again after that, why would he? It was a rude move, maybe rude enough to make the kindest guy on Earth lose him patience. 

It was better that way, he could return to normalcy after those crazy few days. Finally he could blend into the shadows again and watch his crush from afar without worrying about impressing him. Staying collected was exhausting. 

"Jisung." A whisper echoes inside his head, it's Jaemin's voice. The boy groans and closes his eyes tightly, the last thing he needed was his brain playing mind tricks on him. "Jisoooooong." He hears again, louder. 

He could picture it, Jaemin with his eyes wide-open, eyelashes batting prettily as he pouts with all his might. Jisung's first instinct was to hate the baby voice and the cutesy act that always came with it, but he couldn't. He found himself actually enjoying it. Gross. 

"Jisung i know the window is open you can hear me, the night is dead silent." 

Jisung furrows his eyebrows.  _ Wait a minute _ . That had sounded far too real for his liking. He sits at the very end of his bed and stretches his entire body to peak out from his window and that's when he sees him. White baggy shirt, light brown hair poking in all directions, pout shining under the moonlight. He couldn't possibly be dreaming. 

"I can see you come out."

Jisung eventually does get up and reluctantly makes his way to his window. They stare at each other in silence for a while, he practices his apology speech about ten times before he finally finds himself ready to speak. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Donghyuck and Renjun are a handful. I'm the one who's sorry, you probably felt overwhelmed."

"I left so abruptly though, that's just plain rude. And i also mocked your Kitty band-aids which aren't even bad, i actually find it nice that you don't care if people don't find you masculine for owning cutesy things. Like really, i'm just a bit-" 

"You're rambling." Jaemin grins. "You don't have to. I really couldn't care less about the band-aids, i saw that you wore it after anyways. Is your bruise doing okay?" 

"It's a tiny little thing it wasn't doing bad to begin with." Jisung snorts and then cleans his sweaty palms on his thin pajama shorts. He had been so set on saying sorry that he had forgotten who he was talking to, suddenly anxiety begins flowing inside his veins once more and he coughs awkwardly. "But thank you. You don't have to worry though."

Jaemin hums and then leans forward. "Since you're still not used to my friends, would you rather hanging alone?" 

"Why are you doing this?" 

"To make it up to you!" 

_ No, i meant why are you talking to me.  _ Jisung wishes to say, but that'd be too stingy and honestly would sound ungrateful. "I'm not upset though you don't have to make up for anything at all."

"I insist."

Jisung sucks on his bottom lip and stabs his nails against the palm of his hand, he wants to run away from it,  _ heck _ , he had already gone back to accepting that he was fated to never get close to Jaemin. "Okay." He croaks out. 

"Okay?!" Jaemin chirps, eyes shimmering under the night's dim light. "Cool! It's a date then!" 

"It's a wha-" But Jaemin is already gone. 

  
  
  
  
  


Not only had Jisung always wanted to be  _ with  _ Jaemin but he too wished he could be  _ like  _ Jaemin. He was so careless, at least he appeared to be. Jisung knew he was too much of a scared cat — Chenle's favourite hobby was finding ways to scare the living crap out of him, apparently his girly screams were the most amusing thing in the world according to his friend. For many years he wondered if he could be much more than what hr had settled for, if he managed to become more of a free-spirited person then he'd have a shot at not only being friends with Jaemin but having more friends in general. He could lie and say he didn't care if his only true friend was Chenle, but that wasn't the case especially when his friend too was a social, extroverted machine. Jisung had given up on trying to count how many people Chenle was friends with. 

"Hey." Is all it takes from Jaemin to get Jisung sweating buckets. One day he'd figure out how to control his nerves, not anytime soon, but  _ one day.  _ "Didn't forget our date?" 

It had been about three days since Jisung had agreed to being with Jaemin alone, and in those three days the boy had managed to call their meeting a date about hundred times. It was as if he knew that it sent his heart into a state of panic. 

"Well you made sure to mention it every time you see me."

"Just making sure i wouldn't get stood up."  _ Yeah right as if anyone would do that to you.  _ Jisung grumbles inside his head. "Wanna grab some ice-cream? I know a great place nearby! Treat is on me."

Jisung didn't deem it possible to fall harder for Jaemin, but there he was. Swooning like a madman at the bare minimum. For the thousandth time,  _ gross.  _

  
  


They go to the nearby park, it isn't anything fancy, but Jisung likes it that way. At some point Jaemin snatches his ice-cream to get a taste and, if Jisung was fifteen all over again, he'd be losing his marbles because  _ That's an indirect kiss right there.  _ He was far too busy screaming internally at the fact that Jaemin constantly kept his hand on his thigh though, sometimes he'd even caress it after teasing the boy for his stutter as if making sure Jisung knew he didn't mean to hurt his feelings. And he didn't, Jaemin was kind and everyone knew that, there was no way in hell Jisung could ever feel he was being mocked. 

Hours pass by that way, and suddenly the sky begins turning a shade of pink. Jaemin looks up with a wide smile and then look back down at Jisung with stars in his eyes. "This is romantic."

_ Yes.  _ Jisung  _ does  _ choke up at that but Jaemin merely chuckles and goes back to staring at the pretty hues above them. 

"We should start heading home." He finally says and grabs Jisung's hand as he stands up. "Don't want our parents thinking we died or anything."

For the longest time, none of them speak. Jisung's brain was far from quiet though, there were so many questions swimming in his brain, the most recurrent one being  _ Why?  _ It didn't make sense why Jaemin suddenly found himself interested in associating himself with him, especially after he caught him staring so creepily. Jaemin was insane, that was the only plausible reasoning. 

After an embarrassing amount of time preparing himself mentally to speak, Jisung finally does. "Why are you doing all if this? We never even spoke before."

"Because i like you." He replies nonchalantly. 

"What?" 

Jaemin halts his steps and moves to the side to look at the other in the eyes. "We just went on a date Jisung, you can't be this oblivious." 

"I didn't think it was a date  _ date _ !" 

"Not even after i told you daily that it was in fact, a date  _ date _ ?" _ _

Jisung gapes. What even was he supposed to reply? He had no idea, he had never even pondered about the possibility of this scenario happening, he couldn't have possibly gotten himself ready for it. "But why?" 

"I don't know about you but when i go on a date i tend to be interested romantically in the person. Might just be me."

He wants to laugh but his brain is frozen, the sudden information being thrown at him was far too overwhelming. Not to mention shocking, in a way it felt like a prank. Maybe it was, maybe Jaemin wasn't as good of a person as Jisung hoped he was. "You never talked to me and now suddenly you're into me?" 

"I did try to talk to you but everytime i did you replied dryly. Don't you remember how our moms tried so hard to make us be friends? Somehow you were always so scared, and then when you turned fourteen you didn't even reply anymore you straight up ran away from me like i was the plague."

There was possibility Jisung might have repressed certain memories over the years. Just a small one.  _ Sorta.  _

He's an idiot. 

"Then i just assumed, okay, he doesn't like me, he probably even hates me. So I just told myself i'd move on and i did until i caught you staring. You're good Park Jisung, i was never sure if i was imagining it. Everytime i thought i was being observed i never found the culprit." Jaemin smirks. "You slipped once, i caught you, i got my chance."

If Jisung had to compare himself to anything he'd pick an old Windows computer going into overdrive and glitching, he could almost hear the infamous shutdown noise in the distance. His brain was useless, instead of reacting the boy remains still as a rock staring at Jaemin with his eyebrows furrowed and his lips slightly parted. The sight was apparently comical though because Jaemin begins laughing extremely loud right in front of his face, and all Jisung could do was stand unmoving and beg for help. 

"Jisung can you please react you're scaring me. You need to recharge your batteries or something?" 

"N-no." He wheezes out weakly. "So you like  _ me? _ " 

"God, yes, fool. Snap out of it."

"How long?"

Jaemin licks his lips, finally he too seems somewhat nervous. It was annoyingly cute.  _ How dare he.  _ "Well i always wanted to be your friend since day one, at some point i noticed that my wish was slightly more than platonic."

"So-"

Jaemin's phone begins ringing loudly in his pocket cutting him right off. The boy rolls his eyes but picks it up and answers anyways. "Yes mom i'm almost home." He sighs while looking straight into Jisung's eyes. "Yes all is good, see ya."

"So." Jisung repeats already feeling more like himself again — slightly functional but not really. "All this time." 

"You're an idiot." Jaemin snickers then leans forward to place a quick kiss on Jisung's cheek. "It's endearing but i kinda wish you had given me a hint before, now i gotta make up for the missing time."

And once again, he's awestruck. Jisung just wanted to get a brain transplant to one that actually managed to work. 

"You're blushing."

"Shut up."

  
  
  
  
  
  


"Sugar plum, look." Jaemin calls out to him as they sit parallel to each other at their favourite cafe. The cheesy pet name had stopped phasing him after the first few weeks of it being thrown around but that didn't mean it didn't embarrass him whenever Jaemin decided to shout it out for the entire world to hear. 

After the initial humiliation, Jisung finally drifts his eyes towards the screen. He would much rather not have though for he finds a candid photo of him munching on his sandwich that Jaemin had apparently posted on his public Instagram story. 

"Am i a joke to you Na Jaemin?" 

"You look so cute! What are you even saying." Jaemin pouts. 

Jisung rolls his eyes and goes back to eating peacefully. That is, until he hears a camera click and immediately snaps his head up only to find Jaemin smiling proudly at his phone. "Look how cute!" His boyfriend gushes while petting Jisung's cheek on the screen. 

"Don't you post that." 

"Oops." Jaemin quirks his eyebrows mischievously and feigns a sorrowful expression. "My bad."

"You'll regret ever doing that."

The other snorts loudly and bats his eyelashes obnoxiouy. "Oh i am  _ so  _ scared."

"No kisses for an entire month."

"Wait no Jisung-" 

_ Works everytime. _


End file.
